May 24/02 7:29 am - Tour de l'Aude: Stage 8

Posted by Editoress on 05/24/02

Tour de l'Aude Stage 8Report courtesy Team Saturn

Pucinskaite Wins in the MountainsYellow Moves from Saturn's Teutenberg to Arndt

In what was the most difficult of the Tour de L'Aude stages the competitors had yet faced, the Saturn Team successfully defended the Yellow Leader's Jersey, moving it from German to German. Having held the Jersey from day one, Saturn's Ina Teutenberg relinquished it to teammate Judith Arndt today in an excellent display of team strategy. In the end it was Figurella's Edita Pucinskaite winning the stage, climbing to the top of the leader's board, with her ride placing her in third in the overall.

The first climb of the stage was also the longest and the most challenging. The 12 kilometer ascent had narrow and steep sections until finally arriving to the top after 1700 meters of climbing. Saturn's Kristy Scrymgeour set a very hard tempo for the first 20 kilometers, keeping the attacks in check, until an attack from Finland's Pia Sundstedt blew the group to bits. It was Edita Pucinskaite, Valentina Polkanova and Arndt crossing the line of the first QOM at kilometer 44, with four minutes on the Yellow Jersey. Teutenberg was fighting hard to limit her losses with the aid of her teammate Petra Rossner. Once over the top the two teammates began a chase but in front the hammer was down with a motivated group heading toward the second major climb of the day.

By the second QOM Teutenberg and Rossner were there seven minutes from Pucinskaite, Polkanova and Arndt. However, without Teutenberg in the small group Arndt sat on the wheels allowing the two in her group set the hard pace. Behind her, Rossner and Teutenberg took every risk possible on the last descent to bring back three minutes and bringing back riders like Sunstedt, Melchers and Polikavitshute who were in between the lead group and the Yellow Jersey. Showing incredible determination, Rossner and Teutenberg never gave up, crossing the line four minutes behind winner Pucinskaite. Polkanova finished second. Arndt was third. Arndt now wears the Yellow Jersey. Teutenberg and her teammate's determination paid off with her slipping only into fourth in the overall with her tenth place finish today. She will wear the Green Points Jersey tomorrow. Rossner finished in fourteenth encouraging her Saturn teammate until the finish line was behind them.

Tomorrow stage from Quillan to Limoux, is 114 kilometers with three QOM sprints. Although the Yellow Jersey has exchanged hands, it has not left the Saturn stronghold, and they are determined to continue the fight for the honor of finishing the Tour de L'Aude in Yellow.